Rally rules on tyres could lead to more accidents, claims Loeb

Sebastien Loeb called for a review of the new tyre regulations in place for
this year's World Rally Championship after he survived treacherous conditions to
claim his fourth consecutive Rally Argentina and leadership of the overall
standings.

The Frenchman had built a sizeable lead on the opening two days of the event
and his hopes of claiming his third rally win of the season were all but
confirmed when nearest rival Petter Solberg was forced to retire during the
opening stage on Sunday.

That allowed the four-time world rally champion the luxury of coasting through
the final few stages in conditions he described as "the hardest I've ever
faced", finishing two minutes 33 seconds ahead of second-placed Subaru driver
Chris Atkinson.

Mikko Hirvonen, who had led the standings heading into this week's rally,
finished in fifth place to trail Loeb by five points in the overall
classification.

But despite his victory Loeb was critical of the new tyre regulations in place
this season, which left all the competitors to try and negotiate the muddy
conditions on hard compound tyres.

"I like difficult conditions but I thought Sunday's were the hardest I've ever
faced," Loeb said.

"It wasn't so much of a problem for me because I had a good lead, so luckily I
didn't have to push too hard, but it's almost impossible to drive in so much
mud.

"I think we have to do something, otherwise it could be dangerous. In some
places it was very hard to keep the car on the road at all."

He added: "Yes, we see fog, rain and mud on other rallies, but up to now we've
always been able to choose an appropriate tyre for the conditions. I hope we can
do something to improve the limited options we have now."

Loeb began the day with an 80-second advantage over Citroen driver Petter
Solberg, however the Norwegian's hopes were dashed on the opening stage of the
day when he was forced to retire after his car succumbed to electrical failure.

And Loeb all but sealed victory when he successfully negotiated the tricky El
Condor stage, to hold a two-minute-30-second lead heading into the final two
road sections and Superspecial stage in the Cordoba stadium.

Finnish driver Hirvonen was second fastest in the Superspecial stage to claim
fifth place and ensure he did not lose too much ground on Loeb in the overall
standings.

Loeb's team-mate Daniel Sordo guaranteed Citroen had two drivers on the podium
as he finished the rally in third.